This is the third installment of Col. Zachary Miller’s recent road trip around the district. This time he viewed work to replace a number of culverts under a levee and perform other work near New Madrid, Mo.
The 15-mile long Farrenburg levee reduces the risk of backwater flooding along St. John’s Bayou. The project now underway will renovate and replace 18 culverts that cross under the levee. The purpose of the culverts are to keep flood waters out of the protected area, then allow any interior captured water to drain when water levels drop.
The culverts now in place have major structural problems and have exceeded their design life. In addition to replacing the culverts the project will also raise some sections of the levee to the correct design elevation.
In order to replace the culverts, the contractor is also building protective cofferdams to provide flood protection during the replacement work.
Col. Miller met with Civil Engineering Technician Bobby Carlyle from our Caruthersville Area Office and representatives from the contractor doing the work.